Vegea

Vegea is a company that produces biomaterial for fashion, furniture, packaging, automotive, and transportation.

The company was founded with the aim to promote the integration between chemistry and agriculture through the development of new eco-sustainable products. Vegea develops plant-based alternatives to fully synthetic oil-derived materials. 

The production processes are based on the utilization of biomass and vegetable raw materials by maximizing the use of renewable resources as an alternative to non-renewable fossil ones.

• The company has developed a process for the valorization of wine waste in collaboration with Italian wineries. The grape marc, which consists of grapes skins, stalks, and seeds discarded during wine processing, is converted into a material that is similar to leather.
• The grape marc is recycled from the residues of the Italian wine industry and dried, then bio-oil is extracted from the seeds, which is polymerized by patented methods. It is then combined with the fibers through an innovative manufacturing process, and chemical substances are added to create the Vegan Leather. 
• 2.5 kg of grape marc is obtained from the production of 10 liters of wine; it can be converted into 1 square meter of the vegan wine leather. The leather can further be recycled. No toxic solvent, heavy metals and dangerous substances for humans and the environment are involved in the production process.

The other products include: V-textile, V-Polymer and V-Yarn. 

The startup was funded by the European Union Horizon in 2020 research and innovation program, and it also won the first prize of the Global Change Awards for sustainable and animal-friendly fashion.

Vegea collaborates with the public and private sector that allows it to establish synergies and partnerships with local industry and research players. Vegea also worked with brands like H&M,  Bentley Motors, and a few other brands from the fashion industry. Constant investments are dedicated to research activities for the continuous production of new technologies and processes with low environmental impacts.

The solution can benefit a wide range of fashion, apparel, textile, design industries, and can also help the wine industry to manage their residues.